Conditional access (CA) lets viewers choose what to watch from thousands of programs at the touch of a button. This pay per view technology also lets parents block shows and games the don't want their kids to watch. All thanks to the little top boxes that sit on their television sets. This non technical article presents conditional access for home viewing.
Satellite Broadcasts - Conditional Access
Conditional Access enables broadcasters to block programs from some viewers and charge others to see the show. Broadcast options such as pay-per-view (PPV), video-on-demand (VOD) and broadcast video are all based on conditional access technology. The basis of conditional access technology rests on scrambling and descrambling the pictures on your screen. Just as important is entitlement and entitlement management to determine which viewers are permitted to the see the show and block other viewers.
Satellite digital TV - Conditional Access
While digital TV and conditional access seem to have been here forever, they are relative new comers compared to movies. The conditional access digital TV standards were first finalized in 1993. Since then, conditional access enables broadcasts and billing for satellite broadcasters, cable and terrestrial stations. Satellite Digital TV stations are major conditional access users and vital to their financial growth and product development.
Scrambling / Descrambling - Conditional Access
Conditional access is the gate keeper that lets subscribers see the show and makes the show incomprehensible to unauthorized users. Entitlement checking takes place simultaneously with the broadcasting of the show controlled by the conditional access gate keeper. The show broadcast also includes encrypted codes - “Control Words” - to enable the descrambling for authorized viewers with conditional access permission. These codes are sent inside dedicated messages called entitlement control messages for the “top box” on your TV set to decode.
Entitlement Management - Conditional Access
The entitlement management function consists of distributing entitlements to receivers. There are several kinds of entitlements that match different levels of subscriber service: As we all know, the most popular are monthly and pay per view. This info is sent inside dedicated messages entitlement management messages and Shazam! There’s the show you wanted to see, now all you need is a cold drink, popcorn and some friends to enjoy the show.
NDS is a leading conditional access solutions provider and Interactive TV technology company. For more information, read the NDS conditional access white paper. |
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